The present invention relates to detergent compositions, and more particularly, to those detergent compositions which have relatively high viscosity and exhibit good cleansing properties and are mild and relatively nonirritating to the skin and eyes.
Nonirritating detergent compositions have been known in the art and have been in use for some time. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,299,069 and 3,055,836 are representative of such prior art nonirritating detergent compositions.
These prior art compositions, although they are nonirritating and have good foaming characteristics, have very low viscosities. Increasing the viscosity of the compositions by employing viscosity building additives or thickeners results in a deterioration of the foaming and cleansing characteristics of the compositions and may result in other negative characteristics.
Increased viscosity without foam degeneration and with the maintenance of good cleansing characteristics is desirable in order to formulate detergent compositions, especially nonirritating shampoo compositions, that may be marketed as gel concentrates in tube-type containers. The tube-type formulations have found wide acceptance with consumers because of the inherent ease and control of the application of such high viscosity formulations to the hair. However, no satisfactory tube formulations of nonirritating type shampoos currently exist in the marketplace.
It is thus an object of the present invention to prepare detergent compositions which are effective for personal cleansing of the hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide detergent compositions which provide good foam volume and foam stability.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide detergent compositions which while being effective cleansing agents exhibit low ocular irritancy.
It is a further object to provide detergent compositions which can be marketed as gel concentrates.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the detailed description given hereinafter.